PETA to Lottery Winner…

Written by PETA | March 8, 2007

Did you hear about the Georgia truck driver who won half of the $390 million lottery jackpot yesterday? I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a couple of tickets myself, but seeing how I’m still slaving away over my computer, you’re correct in assuming that I’m not the one splitting it with him. There’s always Saturday’s drawing I guess . . .

Anyway, apparently the guy’s not sure what he’s going to do with his new fortune, other than “do a lot of fishing.”

So we wrote him this letter, asking him to consider spending his money in ways that don’t hurt animals. You can check out the whole letter here, and I’ll let you know how he responds.

Commenting is closed.

This is a warning for the animalfriendly people on this site I found my name on a forum for huntersanglers and they are calling me “psycho” nice isn’t it? I used my full name in an earlier entry so that’s how it ended up on their forum. I was not actually looking for their forum but found it accidentally when I was showing a coworker what came up when I “googled” my name. So I would not recommend using your full name here these people are just nasty.

This is for Craig Peterson. The bible does not contradict itself in that manner it states to treat all of god’s creatures with respect BUT it says you may eat any animals with “hooves” as long as it is killed in a way that is not cruel you shouldn’t make statements about the bible without actually knowing parts of it it’s obvious your view is biased and I’d bet all my money that you’ve never read through the bible even once don’t quote lines on something you’ve probably only glanced at.

Just one more post to post a couple lines. Romans 141 Welcome the man having weakness in his faith but not to make decisions on inward questionings. 142 One man has faith to eat everything but the man who is weak eats vegetables. 143 Let the one eating not look down on the one not eating and let the one not eating not judge the one eating for God has welcomed that one. 144 Who are you to judge the house servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed he will be made to stand for Jehovah can make him stand. That’s taken directly out of the bible you can read it yourself if you wish I am not a very religious person although my family is so they can point me out on how to address this point. I’m not trying to preach just stating that for those of you which are religious your religion states that man has a choice in what he wishes to eat to an extent and those who disagree on how another eats should not judge them for it. The only things that bound how a person can eat religion wise is as long as the animal is killed in a human fashion most of the time people see chickens as human since they’re euthanized and not just slaughtered which follows religious standards fish also falls under the category of being ok to eat. Please if you wish to follow the good will of how people are meant to be and free will let people make their own choices I know there are PETA members that are nice and kind and allow others to do as they please but some of these radicals seriously need to learn what free will truly is.

It has already been discredited that fish do not feel pain from being hooked alone. Fish’s mouth skin is very thin and is torn cut and poked daily just from the act of eating other fish. People say that fish get emotional distress from being fished this is also incorrect and has been disproved through science. Quoting a science professor James Rose professor of zoology and physiology at the University of Wyoming says the “emotional suffering” component of human pain takes place in regions of the brain the frontal lobes that don’t exist in the brains of fish “It has to be conscious. …Consciousness which requires a lot more complex brain than a fish has.” Putting it simply it means that a fish lacks the nervous system to feel pain in such a way that PETA depicts. PETA wishes to have the right to do what they want and say what they want which is fine they have that right yet anyone with an opinion opposing them is wrong unethical and cruel. No one is stopping you from acting in your own life how you wish to but please do not cross certain lines and attempt to baby sit how others lead their lives you do not dictate how a person leads their life I know a couple PETA members of which are completely for letting others live their lives the way they wish as long as they do it in their own time and not around them. That is how any dignified and respectful person should act. There is no right in attempting to strip people of their own rights when they try to give you rights to your beliefs. Also I’m against the leader of this movement Karin Robertson now known as “GoVeg.com”. For she has gone to elementary schools and told children lies and said claims in which there is no solid scientific proof. “Fish is bad for you” that depends on where you get it and how you get it certain ways can be bad for you as it is for any type of food but others are completely fine and will pose absolutely no threat to your health. Fisherman if anything try to preserve the life of fish and their habitats without us there would be a huge decrease in such efforts to support fish. In the bible it says that man CAN eat meat and fish. Jesus ate fish with his disciples he also participated in passover in which lamb is cooked and eaten. Jesus Christ wasn’t a vegan or anything close. So are you saying the son of god was wrong and bad? Or are you simply saying that you don’t believe in god at all? In which case are all PETA members against religion and what it teaches? I’m curious to hear what certain people say to this. Please note I’m merely trying to put up conversation to trigger mental thought not to start an argument if you respond to this please keep it civilized and well mannered.

Just curious why can’t we just get along. I am 100 a meat eater. I have friends relatives and coworkers that are not vegitarians. I get along with them fine. They know I am a hunter and fisherman and eat everything I keep. One of my best work friends has not eat meat for 20 years yet we have great discussions about politics sports local events and never once do we push our beliefs on each other. Matter of fact she is religious and I am not once again no problem here. We understand each other and respect each others beliefs and this is what I think the key is. RESPECT!! You live your lives and I will live mine I won’t push my beliefs on you and you don’t push yours on me. We can then go the local pub and have a beer together and enjoy life!!

To start off with I’m really disapointed to see that most of the people on here have reverted to name calling and childish tactics. In what I view as a pointless hope to try and push their own personal views onto one another. I’m going to post my own personal point of view and would appreciate it if people would take it for what it is. My point of view. So if you reply please lets keep it civil. I am an Agronomist from Iowa and work in what is production agriculture with plants and livestock. In my view point Plants and Anamials are both living Breathing. Also they both have some type of intellegence with either intelligent thought or biologically stimulated responses. My opionin is of the point that the human body does not have the ability to turn sunlight rain and nutrients from the soil into the energy that we need from these nonliving building blocks from the earth. So we must obtain this energy from the things that can produce or have obtained the energy. This is where plants and animals come into play. We have to eat them to obtain the energy to live. In my opinion life is life it is not any better or worse for a person to kill a plant or animal to survive. If a person feels so then you are dealing with ethics which I find to be a very wish washy area for most people. I hunt fish raise crops and animals. I eat animals and plants. I have no problem with this or regrets. I do try to conserve. When I hunt or fish I only take what I need. When I harvest Crops and Animals from the land I breed the animals and plant seeds to replace the things that I have consumed to survive. I know that their are things in the world that need to be improved and changed. Animals that are mistreaded. Plants and forest that are cut down and not replaced. I find this shameful and disapointing for mankind and the people that do this should be held accountable. Now lets take a look at this guy fishing. There is a minnow in the water swimming before this guy starts to fish. This minnow was eating small insects and plants to live. While the minnow is swimming a perch comes up and eats the minnow the minnow is then being suffocating and digested alive by the acid in the perch’s stomach. The perch is then eaten by a walleye a repeat of the above happens. The walleye is then eaten by a Northern repeat of the above happens. The Northern fish are not harvested and put enough pressure on the other fish species that the food supply for northerns runs extremely low and the northerns starve and die. Tell me what is really the worst of the two evils. Being swollowed alive only to suffocate and be digested by stomach acid alive or to be caught by a fisherman and processed in a way that would cause instant death? Not looking for trouble with my post only trying to encourage thougt.

It’s your choice to not eat animals that’s fine but you people have no right to criticize those that do. We are biologically created as omnivores Means we can eat animals AND veggies. Hop on our forum httpoutdoorsbest.zeroforum.comzerothread?id596232postid72360267236026 and discuss with us why you feel the way you do Please be civilized. FishermanHunter

I also have another point. Hunters and fisherman are also important for homeless shelters nowdays. Many thousands of pounds of venison are being donated to food shelters across the midwest by outdoorsman including myself. How many PETA member can honestly say that they help out with societies problems in such a way. Many of us also provide homeless and elderly with meals of the fish that you say are being “hurt” As I said in my previous post that probably didn’t get posted why can’t both sides drop their arguing and let it slide. Life will be better without all this bickering.

Personally I don’t think PETA should inject their private matter towards this poor gentleman. You guys have no right to beg for money he should spend it like he chooses and if he chooses to fish let him fish with it. In the same respect if he wants to give you money that is fine as well. As for the hurting of animals goes. Animals have more of a chance at survival than the domestic livestock and best of all they are 100 healthy for you. Now Mr. Matt Prescott I see that you suggested that this man buy a computer or three. 1. Are you suggesting that this man from Georgia may not be “intelligent” or “modern” enough to own a computer. I wouldn’t give you a cent if you came off in a message suggesting just that. I am sure that this man is more intelligent than you are as he recognizes that there are other paths to travel than the ultraliberal side of the topic. 2.Also lay off on the hurting animal crap. If PETA was really concerned about the safety of the environment and welfare of animals you wouldn’t even suggest that this man buy more than one computer. Do you realize how much industrial products like TV’s and Computers harm the environment? Unbelieveable. I hope that one day you guys will realize that huntersfisherman were the first conservationist and actually still the best conservationists. 98 of all outdoorsman are ethical in their actions and take measures in order to minimize the harm to animals. Finally I would like to report that I am a Biologist particularly a lake ecologist and I have done studies with the Minnesota DNR and we have been doing mortality studies on Rainy Lake in Northern MinnesotaI realize you don’t know where that is…Maybe you should look it up on a computer or two or three. We have determined in conjunction with the Ontario Department of Natural resources that fewer that 2 of the fish caught and released are harmed. The rest go on to live full lives. I realize that this post has no chance of being posted on your ultraliberal website and is probably a lost cause but if I can make just one person realize that everyone on both sides just needs to cut the crap and let both sides live the way they want to live without any judgement either way.

This goes to Bob and Tim you guys are about as intellectually dim witted as Ed the hunter. Now while I’m not saying that you’re beyond hope but you guys need to pull your heads out of your backside and smell the coffee. A large portion of the population still believe that animals are just merely things this has been primarily achieved through generations of brainwashing through the meat and dairy industry’s propaganda but also the bible. The bible is so full of contradictions it makes me sick at one point it says you’re supposed to respect ALL of Gods creatures translation every animal on the planet. But then you see church groups holding BBQ’s serving hot dogs hamburgers ham chicken fish egg salad etc. All the while believing that since these animals were raised as ‘food’ that somehow excuses it. All animals be fish crabs pigs cows elk dogs cats they ALL have nervous systems and ARE capable of feeling pain. The biggest problem is that some people become so brainwashed they can’t see outside the box. Tim Bob Ed you guys need to step back and see the big picture. Why don’t you actually TRY something vegan you obviously visit this site from time to time. Try something that doesn’t consist of the cooked flesh of a corpse or a product that some animal was enslaved to produce like eggs and milk. I used to be a meat eater but after watching a video of a defenseless sow get clubbed sexually assaulted having a cinder block brick smashed over her head then dismembered and skinned alive by some Carolina redneck cousin fers well let’s just say it changed my life forever.

To Bob Smith Fish DO feel pain there is plenty of research out there to show that fact. Nevertheless whether they feel pain or not fish are NOT a necessity to modern society. People have enjoyed a completely meatless diet for centuries and as long as one eats healthy food one would not have any negative outcomes. Einstein seems to have done well being a vegetarian as have many other famous and nonfamous people. What a pessimist you are! If we all gave up trying to change things just because we believed that we were “never going to stop people from doing it” we would never try to control crime or otherwise improve society. And by the way it was a friend who got me interested in PETA’s work I immediately became vegetarian and then a complete vegan just a few months later. The friend’s husband has also now become a vegetarian and the husband of our coworker became interested in PETA’s work after hearing about it from our coworker and he is now also a vegetarian. So my ONE friend got THREE people to stop eating meat. Good thing my friend did not give up she saved almost 300 animals PER YEAR just by convincing us all to stop eating meat.

Wow. You PETA peoplesupporters are more nuts than I ever would have expected. You think fish have intelligence personalities and feel pain comparable to dogs and cats??? Have you lost your minds? Fish do not have personalities have very limited intelligence and certainly do not feel pain like dogs or cats. Fish are totally instinctive and do not make decisions. Each species has their own “traits” but do not exibit any personality. And finally there are few if any nerve endings in the hard cartlidge that fish get hooked in. I am all for good treatment of animals. I like dogs better than people. But to compare fish to dogs and cats?? That is NUTS!!

I agree with Elizabeth Robbins and agree that namecalling gets you nowhere. Just because I fish and eat meat doesn’t make me ignorant and your views though I think are misinformed don’t make you ignorant. You say I don’t like animals? I have two dogs and three cats that live a very comfortable life. They get the best food I can get and go to the vet every year. I also worked for the Minnesota Wildlife Rehab where I fed with syringes orphaned bunnies and squirrels. Help them get up to a weight where they could be released with very little handling along the way. Is this someone that is a barbarian and hates animals? No this is someone who respects what God gave us. Along with most outdoorsman we don’t hunt and fish for fun. I eat what I catch I teach the kids I take with me the ways of respecting our land that I learned becoming and Eagle Scout. It’s quality time spent with my family and friends. My Father had cancer and only has a few year left on Earth. We cherish every minute we can get away alone and fish. Sometimes we don’t catch any but that’s OK it’s the time we spent together doing what we love. One thing I learned is that all predators in the animal family have eyes on the front of their face fox cats etc and prey on the sides of they face rabbits squirrels etc so I ask you where are your eyes located. Please stop with the namecalling and just show your point.

to bob smith when you say that fishes don’t feel pain you are a lier because you don’t know it. people also say that fishes are mute this is not true once i observed a fisherman on a shore who captured a big fish and killed him by striking him with his fist on the head! i was in a distance of 20 meters but i heared the fish die with a sigh. so the problem of you carnivores is keeping the world suffering! you just talk and write bla bla bla but you have no wisdom in your soul and your heart for this the world always continues to suffer but be sure even if i cannot stop somebody from doing the wrong thing this does not mean that i stop to fight with all my knowledge and experience for the suffering creatures of this planet!

I think that you are all wrong. I support not hurting animals but I dot not approve of not being able to fish. Fish do not even feel any pain and they are a necessity to modern society. No offense but you’r never going to stop people from doing it so just hang it up now.

Fish use tools ah? You are very passionate about your love of animals. I would venture to guess that you are a vegitarian also. You should write a letter to all the other animals in the world and tell them not to eat other animals. I am passionate about fishing and hunting I believe in leaving some of our precious intelligent and beautiful resources for the future generations to enjoy. I’ll be honest I am sickened by your lack of understanding. You should be embarrassed and rethink your views on the world. I understand that everyone’s opinion counts but now yours counts much less. Keep your mind in your own bussiness and let a working man enjoy a little fishing with his family and hopefully a meal of intelligent tool using fish or two.

People killing innocent creatures is wrong. Nature is nature. Animals don’t kill for the thrill or the bragging rights. I have lived a long time now not eating any animal products and am probably better looking and healthier than those who do because of that. Hunting and fishing is simply an ego trip. Those of us who are against animal cruelity would prefer to live in natural habitats but greedy people make us live in the horrible concrete jungles that are growing like weeds in todays society. Give me a small cabin in the woods any day with a garden and leave me and my animal friends alone!

First off I had nothing to do with the extinction of any predator. I am only aware of what the current conditions are. Second why won’t you or anyone else just answer the question? I know you don’t like either but the E. stands for ethical. What’s ethical about letting countless thousands of deer die very slowly and painfully?

to kelly if humans would not have extincted the great numbers of bears wolfs foxes and many other predators there were kinds of carnivorous animals in all the regions of the planet which we do not even know anymore nature would be balanced and no killing by humans would be needed. but humans defend their position by telling us that these carnivors are eating their cattle and sheeps but they have just stingy hearts and want a 100 pct profit without sharing anything with other living beings and from there they take their right in hunting. so they kill the two carnivors and harmless animals and tell us that it’s necessary i ask myself when the truth shall finally enter into your brains that this planet is for every living creature!

Corey you are WRONG! Where shane is from there are record numbers of deer and they are rising quickly. These large numbers of deer pass diseases to each other especially during harsh winters when there is not enough food to go around. If not hunted the numbers would be alot higher. That means more disease and more starvation. It’s more cruel to let them slowly waste away than to hunt them! Tell me the truth what is more humane 1hunting them eating the meat and donating their hides to a charitable organization or… 2letting them die a slow painful death of brain disease and starvation? Get ALL the facts before passing on your narrow minded ideas! painfu

corey you contradict yourself first you say that nature is much more cruel than humanity could ever be second you say that if the ancestors had taken that same view of ‘do nothing any harm’ etc….. so you have a harmful mind and this is much worse than if it would come from nature because you are a human being. nature has it’s own laws for example a lion kills a zebra for to eat it because he has to survive. if he is not hungry he doesn’t kill the other animals know this very well and don’t run away. they have their own laws among themselves. of course it is not nice to look at hunting lions but when a human being kills an animal it is much worse it’s disgusting and heartbreaking because it’s against human dignity. in today’s western countries we don’t need to hunt or to kill any animals we got enough vegetables fruits grains etc. for to eat killing animals is shameful for human beings because it’s against human nature!

We are all entitled to our opinions. Although I disagree whole heartedly with the two gentleman it is their right to express themselves just as it is ours. We will never change anyone’s mind by name calling. And sometimes you can lead a horse to water but you cant make them drink. They appear to be under a misconception of what PETA and animal rights are all about. I’m going to step out on a limb here and say that most human beings don’t want to see any animals abused or neglected. But PETA’s views do tend to take it to a higher level and I think that raising the bar is a good thing. It’s the place we want to go. But it’s a long road to travel. We all live in our own realities and this is why we don’t all agree about what constitutes animal abuse. Hunting and fishing is a huge part of many people’s lives but that doesn’t mean that one day these people wont experience an event in their lives that cause them to be more empathetic toward all animals even fish.

ed unfortunately animals like you are not smart enough to stop breeding and thusly are overpopulating. so mother nature becomes always more upside down and trees and animals more disturbed. don’t think that you are civilized because you live nowadays. there have been civilizations on this planet which gave us the first animal protection laws thousands of years ago so among others king hamurabi but this is history and too high for you! but instead of going out for hunting save one afternoon and read the peta files perhaps then you shall start to think and become a human being!

Oh boy here we go with these two intellectual MORONS Ed and Shane conjuring up ANY excuse to justify their position. Shane and Ed are the shining examples of what’s wrong with the human race men in particular and how we view other ‘nonhuman’ species. These narrow minded views are the same views we once held when black people were nothing more than slaves objects to be owned or when Nazi Germany led their people to believe Jewish people were ‘inferior’. There is NOTHING honorable about hunting or fishing it’s nothing more than a thrill of killing something. This is nothing more than an illusion that has tricked down for centuries we now have the technology to break this cycle however we still have people like Shane and Ed who still believe this illusion. And Ed here we have a guy who thinks that teaching his kids to think that animals are nothing but inanimate objects is ‘ok’ dude give me a break. Ed also says ‘Unfortunately the animals are not smart enough to stop breeding and thusly are over populating.’ You don’t actually believe this do you? I think what this really applies to is the human race. As it was once said humans are a disease we reproduce exactly like a virus. So who’s not smart enough to stop over populating Ed? And this other jackass Shane this guy really needs to get a life. Dude until a ‘vegetable’ can bleed the same color bodily fluids have nearly the same internal organs express emotions vocalize avoid objects look me in the eye and otherwise ‘interact’ with me your argument caries NO weight. We as a species have to power to change the course of the human race unfortunately we have people like Ed and Shane who will perpetuate this problem until a catastrophic event occurs to make us change.

Well said Shane. Nature is far more cruel than humanity could ever be. And Ed at least I think it’s you this site isn’t real clear on who posted what I’d suggest that if your ancestors had taken that same view of “do nothing any harm” you certainly wouldn’t be here today. But I suppose that I’m making feeble points to the true believers.

shane and ed are exactly those people who can’t read do you have tomatoes on your eyes or what so i just recommend you to read the peta files! stupid people like you make me really sick and tired to repeat always the same thing or are you blind in this case i ask you to take a dog to guide you for this they are anyway good enough in the eyes of people like you or to dig for people after the earthquakes yes for this animals are good enough fuck off you and your hunting instincts. we don’t need people like you. if you would let the animals in peace all the ecosystem would regulate itself animals trees and plants all living souls!!!

Sarah are you an idiot? Show me where those plants have nerves or brains at all. Because I don’t believe that they do so your argument does not stand. If you are going to try to make a point at least have it make some kind of sense. Thank you. And Shane just because people have been doing something for a long time doesn’t make it alright. Social reform is about things changing over time.. we can’t grow without changes. Your argument is probably one of the least challenging I’ve seen.

Shane seems to be quite the hypocrite agreeing that hunting is wrong because people kill “small helpless creatures” but at the same time justifying fishing!!! WTF?? Aren’t fish also small and helpless? It’s too bad people with this person’s kind of attitude can’t experience what it feels like to be impaled on a hook just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another counterpoint Shane I guess that since it’s okay to fish because people have “always” fished then I guess you could justify murder drinking and driving and child abuse…

You guys need to get a life. We have soldiers dieing in Iraq people living on the street in cardboard boxes and teenage mothers leaving their new born children in dumpsters and the most honorable cause you can think of is to harass someone about fishing. Leave the guy alone and let him enjoy his $1.5 million in peace. Hunting and fishing are not only honorable sports but necessary. As the human race expands and depletes the habitat there are less places for Gods critter to live. Unfortunately the animals are not smart enough to stop breeding and thusly are over populating. I personally would rather see them harvested as apposed to starving to death in my back yard which I have witnessed first hand and let me tell you that isn’t a pretty sight. If you want cruel treatment and inhumanity watch a pack of wolves tear up a deer hear about coyotes killing cattle and leaving half to rot in the sun or read about the kid killed by a cougar or maybe mauled by a rogue bear. I bet that if you or yours were attacked by an animal or killed in a car accident involving a deer moose or elk you would change your tune in a hurry. It always amazes me how things change when it really hits home. I hunt and fish not because I should but because I want to. I enjoy it thoroughly and will continue to do so. It teaches my children about nature the circle of life and that animals are not only important to the ecology and well being of this earth but THEY TASTE GOOD TOO. I dont believe in random killing of anything to include animals so if you hunt it you should use or eat it. Now I am sure this will never hit the post as you people are all cowards in my eyes and avoid confrontation with any one with an IQ of more then 10 so I won’t look for this to post any time soon.

Wow I hope you people don’t eat anything or have any hobbies. If you play a string instrament did you know that strings are made of catgut sheep intestines? Bows for a violin are made of horse hair. Trees are living breathing things so I hope none of you live in doors. I hope you never walk on grass cause I’m sure each living blade of grass feels your weight. I think your right on not hunting. If people want to hunt I think they should only hunt predators like wolves big cats etc since they attack small helpless creatures and sometimes get this they don’t always eat them. As for fishing get a life. People have always fished. I’m sure everything feels pain. That’s not gonna stop me though. Fishing has been around for as long as there has been fish and man and will always be around. If this is what this person wants to do with his money so be it. He deserves it. If you choose not to fish hunt or whatnot that’s fine. More left for me and my friends. But leave us alone unless we are doing something illegal! I would say don’t every bother this man or anyone else again!!

Thanks Jack for the link… I have just sent it to a colleague who was still eating fish and sea food because they were ‘stupid’… in his words not mine of course. This makes me think that I should be stronger and send a formal letter to my big boss the bossdirector of the organization where I work… who is so proud of being a hunter that he usually put pictures of dead birds at the end of the ‘serious’ PP presentations!. No more comments about that… Only one colleague said something to him once in front of everybody and what he received back was a “…be carefull…”.

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